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Birthstone: Jade
Flower: Gladiolus
About August
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Beginning as the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar, Sextilis was a month with 29 days. Although it became the eighth month instead of the sixth following the additions of January and February around 700BC, it retained its name. Sextillis fluctuated in its number of days through both the Republican and the Julian calendar reforms, before two days to total 31 were added beginning 45 BC, and it was renamed for the Roman Emperor Augustus.

Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus in 63BC, he was later adopted by his great-uncle Julius Caesar, and claimed his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44BC. Through years of political intrigue, social espionage, and military struggles, he was responsible for uniting the provinces of the Roman community, governed by the Roman Senate, with himself first in charge.

In January of 27 BC, the Senate gave Octavian the new titles of Augustus (a religious recognition symbolizing authority over humanity), and Princeps, a title traditionally given to the oldest or most distinguished senator whose name would appear first on the senatorial roster. Despite his personal feelings against kings and dictators, now named Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, he is remembered as the first Emperor of what became known as the Roman Empire.

His sincere desire to extend the noble virtues of the republic laid the foundations of an empire that lasted several hundred years. Considered intelligent and insightful, as well as a shrewd politician, Augustus was able to enact progressive reforms in the system of taxation, a network of roads accommodating couriers, an established army and navy, and continued expansion into the farthest frontiers. He encouraged the upkeep of Rome's buildings, and developed standards for the maintenance of aquaducts and roads. His reign initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana, allowing the Mediterranean world to remain at peace for more than two centuries.

Upon his death in 14AD, Augustus was declared a god by the Senate, to be worshiped by the Romans. His names Augustus and Caesar were adopted by every subsequent emperor. The cult of Divus Augustus continued until the state religion of the Empire was changed to Christianity in 391.

The Roman Senate changed the name of the eighth month from Sextilis to Augustus, said to have been chosen to reflect the time of year significant in his rise to power. It also suited him because of his birth name Octavius, it was the month in which he died, and because it directly followed the month of July (as he followed Julius Caesar).

William the Conqueror brought the name August to England where it replaced Weodmonağ, which meant "month of weeds".

 

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OBSERVANCES
  • American Artist Appreciation Month
  • National Catfish Month
  • Eye Exam Month
  • National Golf Month
  • Immunization Awareness Month
  • Inventors Month
  • Water Quality Month

STATEHOOD DAYS
08/01 Colorado 1876
08/10 Missouri 1821
08/21 Hawaii 1959

 

REMEMBERING
08/13 Alfred Hitchcock
08/31 Arthur Godfrey
08/01 Francis Scott Key
08/23 Gene Kelly
08/29 Ingrid Bergman
08/10 Jimmy Dean
08/30 John Peel
08/04 Louis Armstrong
08/06 Lucille Ball
08/17 Mae West
08/07 Mata Hari
08/26 Mother Teresa of Calcutta
08/05 Neil Armstrong
08/19 Ogden Nash
08/19 Orville Wright
08/02 Peter O'Toole
08/22 Ray Bradbury
08/20 Robert Plant
08/18 Robert Redford
08/27 Samuel Goldwyn
08/25 Sean Connery
08/24 Steve Guttenberg
08/14 Steve Martin
08/11 Steve Wozniak
08/09 Whitney Houston
08/21 Wilt Chamberlain

  01


"Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?"
~ Francis Scott Key (born 1843)


02


"I'm the most gregarious of men and love good company,
but never less alone when alone." ~ Peter O'Toole (born 1932)


03


"I catnap now and then, but I think while I nap, so it's not a waste of time."
~ Martha Stewart (born 1941)


04


"Don't do nothing halfway, else you find yourself dropping more
than can be picked up." ~ Louis Armstrong (born 1901)


05


"Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." ~ Neil Armstrong (born 1930)

06


"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly,
and lie about your age." ~ Lucille Ball (born 1911)


07


"I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose,
sometimes I win." ~ Mata Hari (born 1878)


08


"I decided to become an actor because I was failing in school and I needed the credits." ~ Dustin Hoffman (born 1937)

09


"I like being a woman, even in a man's world. After all, men can't wear dresses, but we can wear the pants." ~ Whitney Houston (born 1963)

10


"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails
to always reach my destination." ~ Jimmy Dean (born 1928)


11


"Start to ask skeptical questions, try to get to the truth, and don't believe that everything is one way or another." ~ Steve Wozniak (born 1950)

12


"Creation is a drug I can't do without." ~ Cecil B. DeMille (born 1881)

13


"The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance
of the human bladder." ~ Alfred Hitchcock Botn 1899)


14


"Don't have sex, man. It leads to kissing and pretty soon
you have to start talking to them." ~ Steve Martin (born 1945)


15


"I told the recruiter that I had one more interview - at this young company, Microsoft. She said to me, 'If you get a job offer from them, take it, because the chance for advancement there is terrific." ~ Melinda Gates (born 1964)

16


"Life's too short to be bitter, I'm too short to be bitter." ~ Madonna (born 1958)

17


"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises."
~ Mae West (born 1893)


18


"Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos
taste a hell of a lot better." ~ Robert Redford (born 1936)


19


"Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else." ~ Ogden Nash (born 1902)

20


"People say that I'm a millionaire, but that's not true - I only spend millions."
~ Robert Plant (born 1948)


21


"With all of you men out there who think that having a thousand different ladies is pretty cool, I have learned in my life I've found out that having one woman a thousand different times is much more satisfying."
~ Wilt Chamberlain (born 1935)


22


"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." ~ Ray Bradbury (born 1920)

23


"I got started dancing because I knew
it was one way to meet girls." ~ Gene Kelly (born 1912)


24


"If you're an underdog, mentally disabled, physically disabled, if you don't fit in, if you're not as pretty as the others, you can still be a hero."
~ Steve Guttenberg (1958)


25


"Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit
that it makes the ride worthwhile." ~ Sean Connery (born 1930)


26


"It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving."
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta (born 1910)


27


"I probably have become more infamous from two misdemeanors than probably anyone I could think of."
~ Paul Reubens (born 1952)


28


"You never appreciate your anonymity until you don't have it anymore." ~ Jason Priestley (born 1969)

29


"Be yourself. The world worships the original." ~ Ingrid Bergman (born 1915)

30


"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones." ~ John Peel (born 1939)

31


"I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money." ~ Arthur Godfrey (born 1903)


SOURCES

Alice's Drive
http://aliceramsey.org

Angels for Animals
http://www.angelsforanimals.net

Be An Angel Day, from Rumela's Web
http://www.rumela.com/events/events_august_beangel.htm

Benningham Museum
http://www.benningtonmuseum.com/grandma_moses_gallery.aspx

Georgetown Cupcakes
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/

House of Moét and Chandon
http://www.moet.com

IFAW
https://www.ifaw.org

Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/_browse1950.htm

International Cat Day
https://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/ifaw-marks-international-cat-day

International Friendship Day
http://www.friendship.com.au/friendday.html

International Society for Animal Rights
http://www.isaronline.org/campaign_NHAD.htm

ISHI: A Real-Life The Last Of The Mohicans
http://www.mohicanpress.com/mo08019.html

Left-Handers Day
http://www.lefthandersday.com/

Mata Hari
http://www.mata-hari.com/mata-hari-en.html

Milestones to Scouting
http://www.scoutingmilestones.freeserve.co.uk/brownsea.htm

National Dog Day
http://www.nationaldogday.com

National Night Out
http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno

National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/legacy/legacy.html

National Watermelon Promotion Board
http://www.watermelon.org

Navajo Code Talkers
http://www.teamroberts.org/kids/katie/codetalkers.pdf

Official Website for the US Navy
http://www.navy.mil

Switchback Gravity Railroad
http://www.switchbackgravityrr.org

The Official Ingrid Bergman Web Site
http://www.ingridbergman.com

Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site
http://www.tipton-haynes.org

Twins Days Festival Official Website
http://www.twinsdays.org

Ultimate Roller Coaster
http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com

United Nations
http://www.un.org/english

United Nations Cyberschoolbus
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/indigenous/index.asp

Virtual Jamestown
http://www.virtualjamestown.org

Voyager, The Interstellar Mission
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

Woodstock Museum, Bethel, NY
http://www.townofbethel.com/potpourri7.htm

Woodstock Preservation Alliance Archives
http://www.woodstockpreservation.org:81

Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance
http://www.forgivenessday.org


©Dwarf Designs 1998-2019
LAST UPDATED: 8/31/20